Business machine and paper feeding mechanism thereof

ABSTRACT

A business machine comprises a paper feeding mechanism for transmitting papers. The paper feeding mechanism comprises a paper pick-up roller, an intermittence gear set connected to the paper pick-up roller, a first power supply connected to and used for driving the intermittence gear set, and a paper separating roller. The intermittence gear set drives the paper pick-up roller and the paper pick-up roller transmits the media at a first feeding speed while the media is in a first feeding position, and the paper separating roller contacts and transmits the media and the paper pick-up roller rotates at a second feeding speed to drive the intermittence gear set to disengage from the first power supply while the media is in a second feeding position.

BACKGROUND

The invention relates to a business machine, and in particular to a business machine providing a paper feeding mechanism for transmitting papers.

A paper separating roller has a feed rate larger than that of the paper pick-up roller, hence, gear sets of the paper pick-up roller and the paper separating roller are easily stuck as the paper pick-up roller has a driving torque larger than that of the paper separating roller. Wrinkling at the paper tail happens as the paper separating roller has a driving torque larger than that of the paper pick-up roller. It is understood that the method of manipulating the contact between the paper and the paper pick-up roller and between the paper and the paper separating roller is important, and therefore wrinkling at the paper tail or two gear sets sticking can be prevented. For example, U.S. Patent Publication No. 2002/0190459 discloses a feeding mechanism for transmitting papers by a paper pick-up roller and a paper separating roller.

SUMMARY

The invention provides a business machine using a paper feeding mechanism to transmit papers for recording. The paper feeding mechanism comprises a paper pick-up roller, an intermittence gear set connected to the paper pick-up roller, a first power supply connected to and used for driving the intermittence gear set, and a paper separating roller. The intermittence gear set drives the paper pick-up roller and the paper pick-up roller transmits the media at a first feeding speed while the media is in a first feeding position, and the paper separating roller contacts and transmits the media and the paper pick-up roller rotates at a second feeding speed to drive the intermittence gear set disengaging from the first power supply while the media is in a second feeding position. Wrinkling at the paper tail and sticking of the two gear sets of the paper pick-up roller and the paper separating roller are prevented.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention can be more fully understood by reading the subsequent detailed description and examples with references made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 a is a plan view of a roller arm located at a first roller arm position of a paper feeding mechanism of a business machine of the invention;

FIG. 1 b is a plan view of a roller arm located at a second roller arm position of the paper feeding mechanism;

FIG. 1 c is a plan view of the paper feeding mechanism contacting media located in a first feeding position; FIG. 1 d is a plan view of the paper feeding mechanism contacting the media located in a second feeding position;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the paper feeding mechanism;

FIG. 3 a is a plan view of an intermittence gear set comprising a first gear and a second gear;

FIG. 3 b is a plan view of the first gear of FIG. 3 a;

FIG. 3 c is a plan view of the second gear of FIG. 3 a;

FIG. 4 a-4 e are plan views of the intermittence gear set in five different operating positions;

FIG. 5 a is a partial plan view of an exemplary of the paper feeding mechanism of FIG. 1 a; and

FIG. 5 b is a top view of the paper feeding mechanism of FIG. 5 a in direction indicated by an arrow “C”.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In FIG. 1 a, a paper feeding mechanism 100 of a business machine 1 of the invention for transmitting media 200 such as papers or sheets recorded with data thereon comprises a paper pick-up roller 110, a paper separating roller 120, an intermittence gear set 130, a roller arm 140, a first power supply (not shown), an adjusting gear set 150, a second power supply 160 and a feeding board 170. A slot 141 is formed on the roller arm 140.

The paper pick-up roller 110 and the intermittence gear set 130 are disposed on the roller arm 140. The intermittence gear set 130 connected to the paper pick-up roller 110 moves between a first intermittence gear set position (FIG. 4 a) and a second intermittence gear set position (FIG. 4 c) along the slot 141, and the first power supply is connected to the intermittence gear set 130, and the roller arm 140 is connected to the paper separating roller 120. The second power supply 160 drives the adjusting gear set 150, so that the adjusting gear set 150 controls the roller arm 140 rotating between a first roller arm position (FIG. 1 a) and a second roller arm position (FIG. 1 b). As the roller arm 140 rotates to the first roller arm position, i.e., the roller arm 140 is lifted, a stack of paper 200 can be put on the feeding board 170 for feeding process preparation. The paper 200 are then sequentially fed forward by rotating the roller arm 140 to the second roller arm position to contact the paper 200 on the feeding board 170.

In FIG. 1 a, as the second power supply 160 drives the adjusting gear set 150 rotating along the direction indicated by an arrow “A”, the adjusting gear set 150 contacts and lifts the roller arm 140. In FIG. 1 b, as the second power supply 160 drives the adjusting gear set 150 rotating along the direction indicated by an arrow “B”, the adjusting gear set 150 is separated from the roller arm 140, i.e., there is no contact therebetween. Thus, the roller arm 140 is kept at the second roller arm position.

In FIG. 1 c, as the paper 200 are situated in a first feeding position, the paper pick-up roller 110 contacts the paper 200. At the same time, the first power supply actuates the intermittence gear set 130 to drive the paper pick-up roller 110 to move the paper 200 at a first feeding speed. In FIG. 1 d, as the paper 200 are situated in a second feeding position, the paper separating roller 120 contacts and begins to transmit the paper 200.

Because the paper separating roller 120 has a feeding speed larger than the paper pick-up roller 110, the speed of the paper 200 increases. At the same time, because the paper 200 still contact the paper pick-up roller 110, the feeding paper 200 drives the paper pick-up roller 110 to rotate at a second feeding speed which is larger than the first feeding speed. Then, the paper pick-up roller 110 drives the intermittence gear set 130 to lift along the slot 141 of the roller arm 140 and to disengage from the first power supply, so that phenomenon such as wrinkling at the paper tail, or two gear sets sticking can be prevented.

In FIG. 2, the intermittence gear set 130 disposed on the slot 141 of the roller arm 140 comprises a first gear 131 and a second gear 132, and both the first and second gears 131 and 132 are pivoted about an axis 135.

In FIGS. 3 a-3 c, the first and second gears 131 and 132 comprise a first protrusion 133 and a second protrusion 134, respectively. In FIG. 3 b, the first protrusion 133 of the first protrusion 133 comprises a first end 1331 and a second end 1332.

In FIG. 4 a, as the intermittence gear set 130 is at the first intermittence gear set position, the first power supply drives the first gear 131 to cause the first protrusion 133 contacting and moving the second protrusion 134, and the second gear 132 drives the paper pick-up roller 110 and rotates at a first gear rotation speed.

In FIG. 4 b, as the paper 200 is located at the second feeding position, the feeding paper 200 has a speed larger than that of the paper pick-up roller 110, so that the feeding paper 200 drives the paper pick-up roller 110 to move the second gear 132 at a second gear rotation speed. Then, due to the second gear rotation speed being larger than the first gear rotation speed, the second protrusion 134 rapidly contacts the second end 1332 of the first protrusion 133.

In FIG. 4 c, under inertia of the second protrusion 134 impacting on the second end 1332 of the first protrusion 133, a force is exerted from the second protrusion 134 and acts on the first protrusion 133, so that the intermittence gear set 130 is moved and lifted along the slot 141 to disengage from the first power supply while the intermittence gear set 130 is at the second intermittence gear set position.

In FIG. 4 d, as the paper 200 is separated from the paper pick-up roller 110, inertial force from the second protrusion 134 is disappeared and the intermittence gear set 130 is moved downward along the slot 141, so that the first gear 131 is connected to the first power supply.

In FIG. 4 e, without the traction of the paper 200, the first gear 131 has a speed larger than that of the second gear 132, and the first end 1331 of the first gear 131 contacts and pushes the second protrusion 134 to move at the first gear rotation speed. FIG. 5 a is a partial plan view of a paper feeding mechanism 100′, and FIG. 5 b is a top view of the paper feeding mechanism 100′ of FIG. 5 a in direction indicated by an arrow “C”. It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to by using the adjusting gear set 150 mentioned above, a spring 142 is also applicable for disposal between the roller arm 140 and the paper separating roller 120 to increase the frictional force therebetween.

As the paper separating roller 120 moves toward a first paper separating direction or a feeding direction, the roller arm 140 is at the first roller arm position; as the paper separating roller 120 moves toward a second paper separating direction or opposite to a feeding direction, the roller arm 140 is at the second roller arm position.

Thus, this invention prevents wrinkling at the paper tail and the gear sets from sticking while the papers are fed, accordingly reducing cost and maintenance thereof.

While the invention has been described with respect to the preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to accommodate various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. 

1. A paper feeding mechanism for transmitting a media, comprising: a paper pick-up roller; an intermittence gear set connected to the paper pick-up roller, comprising a first gear and a second gear disposed on an axis; a first power supply connected to and used for driving the first gear and the second gear of the intermittence gear set to rotate about the axis; and a paper separating roller; wherein the second gear of the intermittence gear set drives the paper pick-up roller and the paper pick-up roller transmits the media at a first feeding speed while the media is in a first feeding position, and the paper separating roller contacts and transmits the media and the paper pick-up roller rotates at a second feeding speed to drive the intermittence gear set disengaging from the first power supply while the media is in a second feeding position.
 2. The paper feeding mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the media moves the paper pick-up roller rotated at the second feeding speed greater than the first feeding speed while the media is at the second feeding position.
 3. The paper feeding mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the intermittence gear set comprises a second gear connected to the paper pick-up roller, wherein the second gear moves the media while the media is at the first feeding position, and the paper pick-up roller moves the second gear and the second gear moves the intermittence gear set disengaging from the first power supply while the media is at the second feeding position.
 4. The paper feeding mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first gear comprises a first protrusion and connects to the first power supply, and the second gear comprises a second protrusion and connects to the paper pick-up roller; wherein the first protrusion pushes the second protrusion to move the second gear rotated at a first gear rotation speed and drives the paper pick-up roller while the media is at the first feeding position, and the paper pick-up roller drives the second gear rotated at a second gear rotation speed greater than the first gear rotation speed while the media is at the second feeding position, so that a force exerted by the first protrusion acts on the second protrusion to push the intermittence gear set to disengage from the first power supply.
 5. The paper feeding mechanism as claimed in claim 1 further comprising an adjusting gear set and a roller arm connected to the adjusting gear set, wherein the adjusting gear set controls the roller arm rotating between a first roller arm position and a second roller arm position, and the paper pick-up roller and the intermittence gear set are disposed on the roller arm, and the paper pick-up roller contacts the media while the roller arm is at the first roller arm position.
 6. The paper feeding mechanism as claimed in claim 5, wherein the roller arm comprises a slot and the intermittence gear set moves between a first intermittence gear set position and a second intermittence gear set position along the slot, and the first power supply drives the intermittence gear set while the intermittence gear set is at the first intermittence gear set position, and the intermittence gear set disengages from the first power supply while the intermittence gear set is at the second intermittence gear set position.
 7. The paper feeding mechanism as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a roller arm rotatably contacting the paper pick-up roller and a spring disposed between the roller arm and the paper pick-up roller, and the roller arm is at a first roller arm position while the paper pick-up roller moves toward a first paper separating direction, and the roller arm is at a second roller arm position while the paper pick-up roller moves toward a second paper separating direction, and the paper pick-up roller and the intermittence gear set are disposed on the roller arm, and the paper pick-up roller contacts the media while the roller arm is at the first roller arm position.
 8. A business machine for recording data on a media, comprising: a paper feeding mechanism comprising a paper pick-up roller, an intermittence gear set connected to the paper pick-up roller and comprising a first gear and a second gear disposed on an axis, a first power supply connected to and used for driving the first gear and the second gear of the intermittence gear set to rotate about the axis, and a paper separating roller; wherein the second gear of the intermittence gear set drives the paper pick-up roller and the paper pick-up roller transmits the media at a first feeding speed while the media is in a first feeding position, and the paper separating roller contacts and transmits the media and the paper pick-up roller rotates at a second feeding speed to drive the intermittence gear set disengaging from the first power supply while the media is in a second feeding position.
 9. The business machine as claimed in claim 8, wherein the media moves the paper pick-up roller rotated at the second feeding speed greater than the first feeding speed while the media is at the second feeding position.
 10. The business machine as claimed in claim 8, wherein the second gear is connected to the paper pick-up roller, wherein the second gear moves the media while the media is at the first feeding position, and the paper pick-up roller moves the second gear and the second gear moves the intermittence gear set to disengage from the first power supply while the media is at the second feeding position.
 11. The business machine as claimed in claim 8, wherein the first gear comprises a first protrusion and connects to the first power supply, and the second gear comprises a second protrusion and connects to the paper pick-up roller; wherein the first protrusion pushes the second protrusion to move the second gear rotated at a first gear rotation speed and drives the paper pick-up roller while the media is at the first feeding position, and the paper pick-up roller drives the second gear rotated at a second gear rotation speed greater than the first gear rotation speed while the media is at the second feeding position, so that a force exerted by the first protrusion acts on the second protrusion to push the intermittence gear set to disengage from the first power supply.
 12. The business machine as claimed in claim 8 further comprising an adjusting gear set and a roller arm connected to the adjusting gear set, wherein the adjusting gear set controls the roller arm rotating between a first roller arm position and a second roller arm position, and the paper pick-up roller and the intermittence gear set are disposed on the roller arm, and the paper pick-up roller contacts the media while the roller arm is at the first roller arm position.
 13. The business machine as claimed in claim 12, wherein the roller arm comprises a slot and the intermittence gear set moves between a first intermittence gear set position and a second intermittence gear set position along the slot, and the first power supply drives the intermittence gear set while the intermittence gear set is at the first intermittence gear set position, and the intermittence gear set disengages from the first power supply while the intermittence gear set is at the second intermittence gear set position.
 14. The business machine as claimed in claim 8 further comprising a roller arm rotatably contacting the paper pick-up roller and a spring disposed between the roller arm and the paper pick-up roller, and the roller arm is at a first roller arm position while the paper pick-up roller moves toward a first paper separating direction, and the roller arm is at a second roller arm position while the paper pick-up roller moves toward a second paper separating direction, and the paper pick-up roller and the intermittence gear set are disposed on the roller arm, and the paper pick-up roller contacts the media while the roller arm is at the first roller arm position. 